Minister of Home Affairs Imran Abdulla has said efforts of government against extremism is not work it does against Islam. Speaking at first ever councilors conference held in Maldives, Minister Imran stated island communities can only prosper if the communities observe peace and stability.
The same rhetoric was also repeated at the conference by Minister of Defence Mariya Ahmed Didi and Attorney General Ibrahim Riffath.
The home minister explained there is no point in hiding the threat the communities face due to extremist ideologies as the pose it threats to the Maldives and the neighbouring countries is immense. Stating that the acts against extremism are not anti-Islamic and nor are they work against defenders of Islam, he further explained that the work the government is undertaking is to mitigate murders and violence resulting from extremist ideologies.
Moreover, the chair of the panel discussion, defence minister said extremist ideologies disregard the moderate practices of Islam, peace and stability and respect towards others which Maldives has observed since ages before. The defence minister called councilors to provide opportunities for youth and unemployed with the power granted to councils in order to ensure they do not embrace extremist ideologies.
Meanwhile, the attorney general said the practices of Maldivians have changed compared to old times and now people are approaching a more extremist practice. The communities cannot deny the prevalence of extremism as it exists in almost every family, he remarked further calling all government authorities to take action to mitigate the issue.
During the panel discussion, councilors called on the government to take action against people who are anti-Islamic and promote apostasy. The participants also called the government to take action against people who mock Islam.